Tuesday, July 10, 2012

This should come as no surprise to my friends, but growing mustaches is something I really like to do. Many people probably think I grow them to look silly and make my friends laugh, but I think I can grow a pretty nice thick one and legitimately think I can pull one off. As a result I grow them somewhat frequently and not just during Movember when it becomes socially acceptable for males to because of the cause associated with that month.

Buuuuuut my mustache is something that I get surprising amount of shit for from strangers. For example, while I walking home from a Smoking Popes show at like 3 in the morning this past June a dude sitting on the curb with a big tall green mohawk yelled out "Hey! Ironic mustache!", obviously trying to get a rise out of me. However, it was way too late for me to pretend that I cared at all and I kept walking.

This happened again while I was at *shudder* Scenefest in St. Catharines. Some crustie sitting on the sidewalk (Who I had just seen in the crowd for the Planet Smashers) said to his friend, not directly to me mind you, while I was passing "What the fuck is this? !Attention!, fucking ironic mustache..." It kind if pissed me off, so I stopped and said "It's not ironic at all. I think I look great with a 'stache and grow it for that reason." He then went on a rant about how I don't really think that and look stupid. Of course it makes sense that he knows what I think better than myself and I also like how a streetpunk/crustie was lampooning me for wearing a (supremely fantastic) local punk band's shirt, at a (well, not really, but sort of) punk music festival. Then he told me to get socks. Weird.

That guy didn't bother me too much, you know haters are gonna hate, but what does bother me is the surprising amount of disdain I get for my choice of facial from complete strangers. Apparently I'm a huge hipster piece of shit, rapist-looking motherfucker. Is my Dad one as well? Because he's had his 'stache his entire life. At what point does my mustache attain the "non-ironic, don't worry this isn't a complete asshole" tag that I already place on it?

Because I just like having a mustache. Is it really that fucking huge of a deal?

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

think one of the most flattering and awesome things is when you realize that you've made an impact on the personality of someone or influenced the way they act in a positive way.

I mean, I think one of the most exciting things about life is meeting different people and different personalities. Getting to know a new person and then getting along well with them really gets me going, especially when it's a personality that is different from your own. You realize you like things that you've never liked before and then change in a positive way, which (at least usually in my case) surprises you.

Even better than this is when the reverse happens, when you notice that some of your mannerisms or slang rubs off on them. This is great because it's proof of the relationship that you share and is actually physical evidence of how close you are with that person. This sure sounds like I'm talking about significant others, but it's completely true with platonic relationships as well. I think of this every time someone says "schnikees" or (if they're not ETID fans) "shinfo" or, especially, "just let it happen". It shows that they like you and also that you hang around each other enough that they're used to seeing/hearing these things so much that they start to do them without noticing. It's sweet.

Because change is really good. Nobody should ever stay the same their entire life. Even though many of my friends see me and probably think "Wow, Timmy still listens to punk and still gets that drunk (Hey, c'mon brah, I've slowed down a tad) and still laughs at poo." and that's not a bad thing, but the truth is that I've grown immensely as a person since coming to university and especially over the last two years. And this is definitely a result of the people I've met and the friends I've made and their ideas that I've heard.

Let's get back on track though. The marks you make on people. That shit is important, yo. Because those are the things I think about a lot. When I look back on the last 5 years of my life, which is something I've started to do a lot since graduating this past spring, that's what I remember. I remember the people I grew close with, regardless of whether we are still that close now or still talk a lot, and how our relationship was and the best way to think about is to look at the marks they made on you and the marks you made on them.